The present invention relates to a candy dispenser for dispensing pieces of candy and which has a spin top that can be launched from the candy dispenser.
Various types of candy dispensers have been previously described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,475 to Fenton discloses a candy dispenser with a housing shaped like an animal. The housing has a hollow inner cavity in which a plurality of pieces of candy may be stored and an exit hole through which a piece of candy may be dispensed. A piece of candy may be dispensed through the exit hole by moving the position of the head of the animal, which is pivotally connected to the housing. The head of the animal is connected to a sliding gate, and pivotal movement of the head causes the sliding gate to move to either cover or uncover the exit hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,988 to Coleman, et al. discloses a lollipop holder which has an upper portion that is designed to hold a lollipop and a lower portion which is designed to launch a spinning object or flying disk. The flying disk is attachable to the lollipop holder and is operatively coupled to a spinner shaft and a coil spring. While attached to the lollipop holder, the flying disk may be rotated so that the coil spring winds up, and then the flying disk may be launched via a launch button.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a candy dispenser that may be provided with a housing having a candy reservoir formed therein in which a plurality of pieces of candy may be disposed, a spin top having a downwardly extending member that is centrally located on the spin top to facilitate spinning of the spin top while the downwardly extending member supports the spin top, a candy dispensing mechanism including a candy dispensing opening that allows a piece of candy to be dispensed from the candy reservoir, and an actuator associated with the spin top and the candy dispensing mechanism. The actuator may be movable to a first position and to a second position, with movement of the actuator to the first position causing the spin top to be launched from the housing so that the spin top may land on a surface and spin on its downwardly extending member, and with movement of the actuator to the second position causing one of the pieces of candy to be dispensed through the dispensing opening.
The spin top may have an upper portion with an animated figure disposed thereon, and the spin top may be provided with a lower portion with at least one latching member associated therewith. The candy dispenser may additionally include a latch having a flexible arm with an end that makes contact with the latching member to maintain the spin top in a ready state.
The candy dispenser may also include a spring associated with the actuator that maintains the actuator in a neutral position between the first and second positions, and the spin top may have a plastic material with a mass-per-unit-volume and a weight disposed within the plastic material, with the weight having a mass-per-unit-volume greater than that of the plastic material.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a candy dispenser that may be provided with a housing having a candy reservoir formed therein in which a plurality of pieces of candy may be disposed, a spin top having a downwardly extending member that is centrally located on the spin top to facilitate spinning of the spin top while the downwardly extending member supports the spin top, a candy dispensing mechanism including a candy dispensing opening that allows a piece of candy to be dispensed from the candy reservoir through the candy dispensing opening in the housing, a launching mechanism that causes the spin top to be launched from the housing, and an actuator associated with the launching mechanism that is movable to a launching position to cause the spin top to be launched from the housing so that the spin top may land on a surface and spin on its downwardly extending member.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.